U.S. Beef Image in Japan Tarnished

WASHINGTON - Mar 1/06 - SNS -- The latest halt to imports of American beef by the Japanese government has seriously hurt the U.S. industry's image, reports the U,S, agricultural attache for Japan.

Japan reopened its borders to imports of Canadian and U.S. beef on December 11. However, five weeks later it shut off U.S. imports following the discovery of "veal cuts with the vertebral column still attached (the vertebral column is defined as a SRM in the EV)," the U.S. agricultural attache said.

"Immediately upon the discovery of the SRM, this issue became politically charged. Despite a quick apology from the Secretary of USDA regarding the non-compliance with the EV program, and the immediate implementation of corrective actions, the government, Diet and consumers remained adamant against the resumption of trade.

"The USDA has completed a detailed study of the incident and submitted it to the Japanese government for review (as of 2/17/06). However, the prevailing market and political sentiments, which are still highly emotional and negative, make the timing of the resumption a little bit uncertain at present."

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